


such beautiful things should never be broken

by ohmyclara (BooyahFordhamYacht)



Series: lackluster(harrisco oneshots) [3]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Cisco was raped, Harry would do anything for Cisco, I need therapy, Late Night Conversations, Late Night Harrisco Angst, Late Night Harrisco Fluff, M/M, Past Abuse, Past Rape, Rape, Smut, Working Out My Feelings Through Fic, but harrisco fics work too, harry is protective, harry loves him, heated kissing scene, i love harry, me writing out my own issues, no actual rape in this story, overly adorable Harry, some smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-27
Updated: 2017-06-27
Packaged: 2018-11-19 23:02:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11323548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BooyahFordhamYacht/pseuds/ohmyclara
Summary: cisco was in an abusive relationship and hides it from harry for the first two months of their relationship. harry finds out late one night.set about three years after barry becomes the flash, but it's really very au, so none of the seasons set it properly.TRIGGER WARNING: mentions of rape and abuse, none super graphic but still. tagged for caution





	such beautiful things should never be broken

Cisco and Harry were going good so far, really, they were. They had both wanted this for so long, that it was so easy for them to fall into a comfortable, domestic rhythm. Working together flawlessly during the day, then going home to Cisco's place after, turning on a movie and cuddling on the couch until they got tired, then retiring to the bedroom.

 

They hadn't had sex yet, and really, neither of them were in much of a rush. After all the time they had spent getting to this point, Harry was not going to rush through the rest. He wanted to take his time with Cisco, who was the best thing he thought he'd never have again, after Tess. And Cisco didn't want to rush into sex because, well, Cisco had a secret. One that meant he hadn't had sex in almost three and a half years, and he didn't want to have to tell Harry that. He knew he'd have to, eventually, but that was the type of thing he was prolonging.

 

For as long as he could.

 

Two months into their cozy pattern, the fateful night came. It started as kissing, something Harry and Cisco did frequently. The long, slow kind, Cisco tucked underneath Harry, who was holding himself up on his forearms(which Cisco had a very large soft spot for. Seriously, they were  _hot_ ). 

 

And then everything went wrong. 

 

Harry starts kissing down Cisco's jawline, and Cisco moves his hands to Harry's hair. With a growl, Harry takes one hand and pins Cisco's hands above his head. Which Cisco would have loved.  _Before._

 

Cisco jerks back, pleads out a desperate  _No_ , and Harry immediately lets go, and backs off Cisco instantly.  _ **(RESPECTFUL RELATIONSHIPS ARE THE SHIT, READERS)**_

 

Harry sits back on his heels and watches Cisco carefully. "Cisco?" he asks, reaching for him. The words  _are you okay_ die on Harry's tongue when Cisco flinches away from him. Harry pulls his hand back, pain building in his chest as he notices that Cisco is crying. 

 

"Cisco, what's wrong?" he asks, so quietly he thinks for a moment that Cisco hasn't heard him.

 

"I'm sorry." Cisco's whisper barely catches Harry's ears as the younger scientist pushes past Harry and out the door. 

 

Harry, stunned, sits for a moment. His heart is wrenching itself in two.  _What had he done wrong? He hadn't meant to hurt Cisco._

 

The thought that he'd hurt his partner is burning him from the inside out. After a few minutes of sitting there, hurting, he gets up to follow Cisco to where Harry knows he would be. The labs.

 

Luckily, Cisco's apartment is only five minutes away from STAR labs. Harry rushes there as fast as he can, and when he gets to Cisco's workshop, he finds his boyfriend working on his latest project, a new drone to help train Barry. Harry can see the tears still running down Cisco's cheeks, and he feels like he is slowly dying inside. 

 

"Cisco, can we talk about this?" Harry tries, softly.

 

Cisco spins around at his voice. Apparently, he hadn't heard his lover come in. 

 

"You won't want me anymore if we do." Cisco's voice is small, terrified. Harry's breath catches in his throat.

 

"Cisco, darling, look at me." Harry's response is kind and soft, and apparently enough to get Cisco to trust him. Cisco looks up, gaze fearful, his frame trembling before the taller man. Harry just wants to take Cisco in his arms and hug him tightly, keep him safe from whatever demons are haunting him, but he knows that is not what Cisco needs, or can handle, right now.

 

"Nothing you could possibly say to me could change how I feel about you." Harry carefully maneuvers himself so that one hand is slowly placed on his boyfriend's cheek. The pressure in Harry's lungs lessens a little bit when Cisco lets him get that close.

 

"You promise?" Cisco sounds to Harry like a small, terrified child. 

 

"I promise."

 

"Okay." Cisco takes a deep, shaky breath, his ribcage rattling. "Uh, five years ago, I started dating this man named Noah. Noah seemed great, he was kind, and rich, and hot." Harry can visibly see Cisco tense up as he relives this. 

 

"About six months into the relationship, a pipe burst in my apartment, and Noah convinced me to come live with him while they fixed it. Things were going so well that by the time the pipe was fixed, I had moved completely into his place and didn't plan on leaving. As soon as I let the lease expire on my apartment, it was like Noah was a completely different person. He was rude, curt, degrading." Cisco shakes. 

 

Harry knows where this story goes, knows what Cisco is going to say, but he can't possibly begin to accept or even acknowledge that it happened until Cisco says it himself. He can't 

 

"And then, it really started. He would always be upset, but more so when I hung out with people who weren't him, so I stopped doing that. And then he'd be upset if I went out without telling him where I was going, so I stopped doing that too. Before long, he controlled me. And then, he was angry all the time. And then he started to...  _hit me_ when I didn't do what he wanted." Cisco says, and Harry has to consciously stop himself from sucking in a sharp breath when the pain of those words stab into him.

 

"But I still thought he loved me, and I thought he would respect me. But the first time I said no to-" Cisco has to pause here, take a breath, steel himself. Harry doesn't touch him for fear of the smaller man shattering into pieces before his very eyes.

 

"The first time I said no to having sex with him, he told me I didn't get to say that, and forced me to. I didn't move the whole time, but the next time it happened, I tried to get him off, and he pinned my wrists above my head." Harry wants to throw up, knowing that he had done the _exact same thing_  to Cisco as this monster, but forces the bile back down his throat. This is the most pain Harry thinks he's ever been in.

 

"This continued for about a year, all of it, until he was killed in a car crash, driving drunk. And all I felt was  _relief_. And then, three months later, the particle accelerator exploded and suddenly I had Barry to take care of. I never had to deal with it. So here I am." Cisco shrugs, trying to mask his heart ripping, slowly, right down the middle. 

 

Harry intends to move slowly, thinks he's moving slowly, but looking back on it the next day realizes he probably could have moved slower than what he did as he takes Cisco into his arms, tucking Cisco's head underneath his chin, wrapping his arms around the whole of Cisco's small frame.

 

If Cisco feels Harry's tears hitting his hair, he doesn't comment on it. 

 

After a long, long hug, Harry moves the two of them to two chairs at the main desk, and maneuvers himself and Cisco so that they are facing each other. Cisco's eyes are puffy and tears continue to leak slowly. "Cisco, I can't explain to you how sorry I am, for what that monster did to you and for what I did. But I promise you, I'm not going to leave you, and I will  _never_ hurt you, not ever. We are going to get you through this, we'll go as slow as you need, whatever you need, I'll be there. I'm going to be there the whole time. I am never,  _ever_ going to make you feel that scared again if I can help it. Until my dying breath, Cisco Ramon, I will keep you safe."

 

And they both know, that with the line of work they're in, that's a lie, but as Harry pulls Cisco back into his arms, Cisco feels whole enough again that he lets himself believe it.

 


End file.
